The Third Wheel
by DunMessWithDBest96
Summary: Emily and Mike are playing relationship chicken and neither wants to be the first one to confess to each other but what happens when you throw in a very clueless Kevin which brings Jayden into the equation? Slight Jayden/Mia at the end


**The Third Wheel**

**A/N This is my first power rangers samurai fanfic so I hope that this story meets your liking. Anyway, please enjoy the story **

" I hope you enjoy the breakfast I made, Emily since I specially woke up early in the morning to prepare it just for you," Mike said handing her a tray with a plate of fried eggs, crispy toast, a bowl of salad and a glass of juice.

The yellow samurai ranger looked surprised and delighted at the green samurai ranger's subtle display of affection towards her. She knew since she was the only one he made breakfast for and he woke up earlier than usual to slog in the kitchen for her benefit.

" Mike, I don't know what to say," she said happily, a big smile plastered on her sweet and pretty young face.

" Well, you can tell me how my cooking is especially my signature sunny side up eggs and my freshly squeezed orange juice," Mike grinned and Emily noticed a small bandage on his palm.

" Mike, your palm…" she said looking concerned but he just laughed it off and hid it behind his back.

" Don't worry about it. It's just a small burnt I sustained from accidentally touching the frying pan. You just enjoy your delicious breakfast before the other get up from bed," he said and went out whistling a happy tune.

Emily looked at the scrumptious tray of food on her table and quickly got up and got ready before digging in.

" This is concrete evidence that he does have feelings for me but I still don't get why he won't confess to me because I'm dying to tell him how I feel about him too," she thought as she took another bite of her toast.

" He wasn't kidding. His eggs taste marvelous and his salad tastes so refreshing. He's a guy of many talents and cooking is one of them. This is one of the rare times where I actually enjoy my breakfast because Mia usually cooks breakfast for us," Emily thought to herself and took another sip of her orange juice.

" I want Mike to tell me how he really feels about me because I don't want to keep on guessing his feelings. He's usually so charming and outright but caves in whenever I ask him," she continued thinking and someone knocked on her door.

" Good morning Emil…" Mia left her sentence hanging in the air as she saw her best friend busy tucking into a lavish breakfast which left Mia's mouth watering.

" Did you make all this yourself?" Mia asked and Emily shook her head. " No, actually Mike did," she continued and tried to conceal a light shade of pink which began to appear on her cheeks.

Mia grinned at her and put her arm around her neck. " I see that he decided to confess his true feelings for you by surprising you with breakfast in bed? He's really sweet," Mia said and Emily heaved a heavy sigh and her shoulder sagged.

" That's the problem Mia. He didn't and I just wished that he would tell me how I feel because I really, really like him," she said and Mia looked understandingly at the yellow samurai.

" Emily, maybe Mike is bit shy when it comes to these kind of things," Mia suggested and Emily nodded.

" I guess you're right but at least I have a strong feeling that he has mutual feelings for me," Emily said.

Mia thought for a while and she broke into a huge grin and Emily laughed at her friend's funny expression.

" Emily, I just thought of a good plan to make Mike finally confess to you but it will be a bit tough for you," Mia said and Emily frowned and folded her arms across her chest.

" How about you pretend to like Kevin and that will play on Mike's jealous side which is pretty big and then, when you tell Mike that you and Kevin are going steady, he is going to flip his gourd and do everything he can to convince you that he is the right man. In other words, he'll spill the truth and his feelings," Mia said and Emily looked horrified.

" Kevin? I don't think he'll be suitable and he won't play along. What about Jayden?" Emily asked.

" I think there will be an even less chance of him playing along seeing how he doesn't really fancy shenanigans such as this," Mia said secretly knowing that Jayden might actually have feelings for Emily as well but Mia herself liked Jayden and intended on trying her luck with him.

" Are you sure it's going to work? I'm scared of Kevin and what if he punishes me for acting like a fool and embarrassing him?" Emily said worriedly but Mia patted her on the back.

" Don't worry. Kevin isn't that harsh and besides, I'm sure he would like to get back at Mike for all those jibes and teasing," Mia giggled and Emily laughed.

" How true. Alright, I'll do it and hope Mike will finally tell me how he feels about me," Emily said.

" You can start after we finish breakfast. That reminds me, it's almost time to prepare breakfast. I'm making my special eggnog and chicken chowder with lettuce leaves," Mia said and quickly went out of Emily's room to prepare breakfast for the others.

Emily cringed at the names of the dishes and imagined a disgusting and slimy mess on a tray but luckily, Mike spared her stomach the torture today and that made her liked him even more.

Emily got up and began to train in the pavilion while Kevin and Jayden were forced to ingest Mia's usual horrible cooking.

Emily watched Mike diligently practicing his sword fighting techniques and she couldn't help but giggle at how cute he looked even when he was trying to be serious.

" What's that smell?" she heard Kevin cry out in dismay. " Mia's cooking us breakfast and I doubt it will be better than the other times. I just hope Emily and Mike didn't find it too rough on them," Jayden added.

Emily ran up to the living room to watch Kevin and Jayden stomach the repulsive goop which was supposed to be their breakfast.

" Hey Emily, is it me or does this chicken chowder taste worst than usual?" whispered Kevin to Emily and she pretended to gag. " It does taste worse but just pretend to like it to avoid hurting Mia's feelings," Emily whispered back.

Mia gestured at Emily to make a move on the blue samurai ranger from the kitchen and Emily felt uncomfortable but nonetheless, it was an interesting challenge and she was sure that Kevin would not be that mad at her.

" Kevin, if you'd like, I would be glad to make some toast for you," Emily told Kevin and his eyes lit up. " Really? What about taking care of Mia's feelings?" he said dryly but Emily shook her head.

" She won't mind. I told her that your stomach wasn't feeling too good and it was better for you to eat something wholesome and nutritious," she said and Kevin beamed at her.

" Thanks a lot Emily. You have no idea how my stomach is churning now," he said. Jayden furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the blonde ranger.

" Aren't you going to make some toast for me too?" he asked hopefully and Emily looked in distress. She wanted to send a message to Kevin telling him that she fancied him but on the other hand, Jayden deserved it too and she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Emily pretended to smile at Jayden and she patted him on the back. " No, I didn't forget you. I'll make you some as well," she said and Jayden smiled appreciatively at her.

" Isn't Emily sweet? Taking the effort to make us toast on a day where breakfast is absolutely unbearable," Kevin said.

" She's more than sweet. She's understanding, kind and not to mention beautiful," Jayden said wistfully and Kevin looked oddly at his leader.

" You didn't have to tell me those things, you know? The person you should be saying that too is Emily," Kevin suggested but Jayden shook his head.

" Now is not the right time. Master Xandred is still out there and dating your team member may jeopardize the entire team's safety as well as our team strength," he explained.

Mia had been eavesdropping throughout their entire conversation and her suspicions were accurate. Jayden was in love with Emily as well and Mia gave a sigh of annoyance.

Emily came out of the kitchen with a plate of crispy toast and Kevin quickly grabbed a piece but he yelled in pain as the toast was still very hot and Jayden tried not to laugh at his overzealousness.

" You should wait for it to cool before eating it ," Emily told Kevin and she wiped his fingers with a wet cloth.

Jayden didn't really like hoe Emily was paying more attention than usual to Kevin and he knew that something was going on. Emily was being extra caring and loving to Kevin and a horrible thought crossed his mind.

" No way. Emily would never like him but what if I'm wrong and she does? Where does that leave me?" Jayden thought as he saw Emily smiling affectionately at Kevin.

Mia smiled at Emily's convincing act and Kevin thanked Emily again. " She's really, really helpful and caring. If I were you, I'd grab her before someday does," Kevin said to Jayden on the way to the training ground outside the Shiba house.

" How did I do?" Emily asked Mia excitedly and Mia giggled. " You did great. Now, try turning on the charm a little more during training," Mia said and the both of them went outside to begin their daily training.

" You're up early," Kevin said as he saw Mike drenched in perspiration and a few wooden targets broken. " Mike, it's nice to see you striving to become a better samurai and being punctual for training," Jayden praised Mike and Mike grinned cheekily at Kevin.

"Hey Kevin, can I spar with you?" Emily asked the blue samurai and Mike was taken aback and he looked puzzled at Emily because she always liked to spar with him and why on earth did she choose Kevin?

"Sure Emily. I don't mind teaching you a few moves too as a token of my appreciation for the toast you made me," Kevin smiled and Mike looked even more annoyed.

Why did she make toast for Kevin when Mia had already cooked them breakfast? Did Kevin put a spell on her to make her more interested in him? A million possibilities were running through Mike's head but he couldn't pick which one seemed to fit the bill.

"You're not bad Emily but try to keep your guard up whenever you're fighting and always remember to subdue your opponent by striking his legs first," Kevin explained.

"I don't mind you sparring with me again," Emily winked at him and Mike looked sourly at Kevin and Mia exchanged gleeful glances with Emily.

"Hey Mike, you want to train our stamina?" Jayden asked Mike but he shook his head. "No thanks. I've already done my laps for the day and I'd rather watch how our good buddy Kevin, teaches Emily," Mike said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

" That was excellent. You've really improved since the first day you came here. With a little more hard work and determination, you'd make an excellent samurai," Kevin said and Mike rolled his eyes.

" How about a short rest. Come on, I'll make us some lemonade," Emily said gesturing for him to follow her and Kevin licked his lips. " I could use an ice cold lemonade right about now," he said and eagerly followed her back into the house.

" Don't you think it's a bit weird that Emily is being extra nice to Kevin and not paying the slightest bit of attention to me?" Mike asked Mia but she just pretended to look clueless.

" Not at all. You know how she is, she's just trying to be equally nice to everyone in the team, including super serious Kevin," Mia said and Jayden bopped her on the head.

" Ouch. What was that for?" Mia groaned and Jayden laughed. " Rule number one. Never let your guard down during combat or the enemy will take advantage of you," he said and Mia grinned at him and the both of them continued sparring.

Mike quietly slipped away back to the house when he bumped into Master Ji polishing the wooden furniture. " Have you seen Emily and Kevin?" he asked him but Master Ji just smiled at him.

" Emily is quite the charmer. She just made lemonade for the both of them and now she's having a nice conversation with him in the living room," Master Ji said. Mike hid behind the pillar and eavesdropped on their conversation.

" Kevin, you're a really sweet guy but being a bit too serious gives people the wrong impression," Emily said to Kevin who was scratching his head.

" I don't think so. I think being a samurai justifies your actions and personality to be a bit more serious and straightforward. However, you may be right on the impression thing," he said.

" If you went out more often, you could attract a lot of girls who would be easily taken in by your serious, brooding and handsome face," Emily teased him and Kevin couldn't help but smile a little. " Oh man, is she hitting on me? I don't remember a falling star passing by my bedroom last night? I always thought she liked Mike….Oh well, lucky day," thought Kevin happily.

" To be honest, you're my type of guy," Emily hinted and Kevin played it cool and just nodded silently. " I'm her type of guy eh? Talk about surprise," Kevin continued thinking.

" What the hell is she talking about? Does she really like that chowder head? What about us? Wait…..she doesn't even know that I have feelings for her so that makes her a free woman," Mike thought ruefully.

" You guys want to go out for lunch or something? It's Saturday and it'll be easier to deal with Nighlok attacks since we're outside the house," Jayden suggested walking into the living room with Mia.

" Anybody seen Mike? I haven't been seeing and hearing much from him today. I wonder if anything is bothering him?" Kevin asked the three of them.

" Don't need to worry because I'm famished and all I want to do is grab some lunch," Mike said nonchalantly pretending to come out from the bathroom.

" Great then. Let's all change into some regular clothes and head out," Jayden said and everyone nodded in unison.

" Hey Jayden, I think that Emily likes Kevin and that is a big problem for me, you know what I'm saying?" Mike whispered to Jayden and the red samurai ranger frowned.

" What do you mean she likes Kevin? Of course she likes him. He's her friend and they are both on the same team," Jayden said and Mike rolled his eyes.

" Not that way. I mean to say that she has feelings for him but I'm not sure whether he will reciprocate her love," Mike said and Jayden's eyes widened.

" That is bad," said Jayden in annoyance as he wanted her all to himself. " I think I've got to stop this and tell her that I love her," Mike told Jayden but Jayden didn't like that either.

" I think it would be better if you watched them longer just to confirm your suspicions," Jayden said cunningly and Mike agreed.

" I guess I better be the first one to break the deadlock," he thought and he knocked on Emily's room.

Emily opened it and she was surprised to see Jayden outside. " Emily, can we talk about something serious before you get ready?" Jayden asked her and she looked concerned at him. " Is it about the Nighloks? Training? My progress as a samurai ranger? Mia's cooking?" Emily asked and he shook his head.

" It's about you and Kevin," he said darkly and she bit her lower lip in hesitation. "What about it? I really like Kevin. He's the sort of guy who makes me feel safe and warm. I didn't know you were interested in my personal life," she said and Jayden held her hand.

Emily felt scared and she gulped. " I'm interested because I'm in love with you besides Kevin," he said and Emily's jaw dropped and she quickly pulled her hand away from his.

" Are you pulling my leg Jayden? If you are, it's not funny and I don't think Kevin would like that very much," she said but Jayden groaned in despair.

" Are you playing hard to get, Emily? I'm not chasing after you. I'm merely expressing my love for you, that's all," he said and he got up.

" Don't worry. You can take your time to decide between Kevin and me," Jayden said before leaving her room.

Emily was gob smacked and she had a little thing going on for Jayden but it was nowhere near her burning passion for Mike. Well at least her ploy worked….but on the wrong guy.

Someone knocked on her bedroom and she got up and opened it. She tensed up when she saw Kevin staring her down at her entrance.

" May I come in? I want to talk to you about something," Kevin said and Emily prayed that he wouldn't let the cat out of the bag.

" You really opened up my eyes this morning with your kind and loving words. That made me realize that not many girls can meet my expectations so, if you're interested in me, I'm ready to give it a shot," Kevin said feeling a bit strange about offering himself to his fellow ranger.

Emily resisted the urge to faint and she blinked at him a couple of times and pinched herself to convince herself that this wasn't a bad dream.

" Kevin, about today…..I actually…." But she was cut off by Kevin.

" I know, I know that I'm the serious and diligent one of the group but I think I'm not that tight-assed as Mike claims me to be," Kevin said and Emily slapped her forehead.

" I'll give you some time to process all this and make your decision. I always thought Mike liked you but I guess he doesn't," Kevin said and left her bedroom, leaving Emily in despair.

" I'm sure that Kevin is wrong. Mike has feelings for me too right?" Emily thought sadly as she picked up the photo frame of Mike and her posing at the carnival.

" I can't believe I got all the guys to confess to me except Mike himself. Are me and him just really good friends? Maybe Mike has his eyes on another girl. An even prettier and less klutzy girl," she thought and she flopped down on her bed and just idly stared at the immaculate white ceiling as she couldn't decide what to do next.

" I think I should be the one to tell him my true feelings since this plan is obviously backfiring. I should hate to be a dampener on Jayden and Kevin's hopes but they are more like brothers to me," she thought and she slowly got up from her bed.

As she left her room, she bumped into Mia hurrying to the kitchen with a basket of provisions. " Mia, I'm really grateful for your help but I think I will tell Mike that I love him because it seems I'm in a sticky situation," Emily gulped and Mia cocked her head to one side.

" Don't tell me Kevin caught on to our plan and dealt out some horrible and strict punishment to you. Or worse, Jayden realized what you were doing and spilt the beans to Kevin," Mia said but Emily just shook her head.

" No. Kevin and Jayden both told me that they wanted me to be their girlfriend and the worst part is, Mike wasn't one of them," Emily said sorrowfully and Mia looked away as Emily mentioned Jayden's name.

" Oh. Jayden got in the act as well? How lucky for you to be wanted by three guys simultaneously," Mia said glumly and Emily noticed that something was wrong. "Mia, what's wrong? Did I say something to upset you?" Emily said worriedly and held her best friend's hands but Mia just smiled at her.

" It's alright. I just remembered that I forgot to pick up a key ingredient for my pumpkin soup tonight," Mia said and Emily nodded understandingly.

Emily rushed to Mike's room but he wasn't there. Suddenly, she heard an argument taking place outside the Shiba house, by the garden. She ran out and she covered her mouth as she saw Jayden, Kevin and Mike arguing among themselves about who Emily loved most.

" Jayden, just because you're the red ranger doesn't mean she thinks you're super cool or brave," Mike said angrily and Jayden looked offended.

" Kevin, I always thought you said that relationships within the team jeopardizes our safety?" asked Jayden sarcastically and Kevin looked away in guilt.

" Mike, just because you and Emily are the closest doesn't mean anything at all. For all you know, she may only think of you as her best friend. Let me emphasize that again. Best friend!" Kevin snorted to the green samurai ranger.

The arguing piped down and slowly dissolved into silence as the three guys looked at Emily who was feeling a bit nervous and looking ruefully at them.

" Please stop all this bickering and quarrelling, you guys. I have to tell you all something and I hope you don't get mad at me. None of this would have happened if I had enough courage and bravery to confess to a certain guy in the first place," Emily said and the three guys looked at each other and stared hopefully at her.

Emily caught Mike's eye and he just grimaced at her. Emily mustered up all the courage she could find, took a deep breath and held her hands together.

" I never really liked Kevin. I only pretended to like Kevin so that Mike would be jealous and that would prompt him to tell me how he really felt about me. Jayden, I used to like you but you're like a big brother to me and I'm in love with Mike. Kevin, I meant every word I said to you just now except the part where I would like to date you. I'm really sorry for the confusion I caused and I guess I'm just a coward at heart," Emily said softly and she looked away before stifling a sob.

" I hope you guys aren't too mad at me because I'm really sorry and if anything should have happened to the team due to the disharmony, I'm the one to blame," she sniffed while letting out another sob.

Mia watched Emily break down and she felt bad inside. "How could Emily be so nice to take all the blame. I was the one who came up with the idea and convinced her t carry it out. If anyone should be blamed, it was me," Mia thought guiltily and she prepared to confess but Emily shook her head at Mia, telling her that she did not need to do so.

The three guys exchanged foolish looks with each other but Mike ran over to Emily and placed his arm around her. " Emily, please don't cry. You wouldn't have to do all this if I was man enough to tell you that I loved you from the start," Mike said and Emily stopped crying and she looked hopefully at him.

" Really Mike? You love me?" she asked and Mike wiped away a tear from her cheek and cupped her face with his hands. Mike pretended to look hurt but he grinned at her. " You don't trust me? Maybe I should try to convince you some more," he continued and pulled her closer to him until her lips brushed his.

Mike and Emily began to kiss passionately, their arms roaming each other's bodies while caressing each other's hair. Their five minute kiss seemed like an eternity to them. It was mind blowing and set off fireworks in their heads. Kevin looked disgusted while Jayden gave a little smile.

" That's not funny, man. How about getting a room and sparing us broken hearts. Have a heart will you?" Kevin added and Jayden and Mia just raised their eyebrows at his dry attempt at humor.

" I guess we should," Emily giggled and pulled herself away from Mike. The both of them ran back into the house where Emily winked at Mia who gave her a thumbs up.

" Will you get a load of that? Our Mike's all grown up and ready to stop being such a player," Kevin said sarcastically.

" Do I sense jealousy emitting from you?" Jayden asked smirking and Kevin laughed it off.

" Hey, Jayden. Can I talk to you for a while?" Emily asked the red ranger. Jayden followed Emily and Emily grinned at him.

" Jayden, I know that you like me but I love Mike and I hope you can understand. Besides, good luck with Mia," Emily smirked and Jayden widened his eyes in surprise.

" Excuse me?" he asked in shock. Emily folded her arms across her chest. " Hey I've seen the way she looks at you at home as well as the battlefield. I do have eyes behind my helmet you know," Emily said and Emily went back to her room leaving a very surprised and thoughtful Jayden.

Kevin approached him and put his hand on his shoulder. " Well, what did he say?" he asked and Jayden hid his excited smile. " Nothing. She just opened my eyes," he said as he flashed a brilliant smile to Mia whom in return, flashed him a coy smile.

" Whoa, déjà vu, man. It seems so familiar and it seems that I've been in this exact same situation before," Kevin thought but he just shrugged and joined Jayden for a drink in the kitchen.

" I saw that. I didn't know you knew what Scott told me before he went back to his world," Mike said smirking at Emily who lay in bed with him.

" You're such a forgetful guy. You told me that last week when you hinted that you were ready to start a relationship with me," she said and Mike nodded foolishly at her.

" I guess he was right. I still didn't like the way he looked at you though," Mike said and the both of them burst out laughing.

" I guess in the end, my plan didn't make you confess to me but me, myself. What goes around comes around, huh? Anyway Mike, I should have told you this long ago but, I love you," she giggled and Mike brushed away her blonde fringe and kissed her forehead.

" You already know my answer. Well what the hell, I'll say it anyway. I love you too Emily," he said and they began to resume their passionate kissing in the privacy of her room.

"All's well that ends well," said Jayden from the kitchen as he and Mia were also in the middle of kissing.

" Easy for all of you to say," snorted Kevin as he accompanied Master Ji in pruning the plants in the garden since he was the only one left.

**A/N I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope my first attempt was good. Don't forget to leave any comments, feedback or reviews which would really improve my stories. See you guys soon **


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